H.Sridhar-Master of Mixing

This post is to discuss Mr.H.Sridhar's mindblowing mixes.I have always felt that if ARR has reached where he is now Sridhar has played an integral part in his success.I still remember Mr.Sridhar telling Ashanti omkar on "THAMARAI "that he always made himself available whenever ARR wanted him even if it was in the wee hours of the night.Quiz Sridhar about his relationship with AR,he tells you that he has always believed in the wavelength that both of them shared.H.Sridhar was the person who was really responsible for bringing the DTS and Dolby Technology to India.The first movie to be mixed in the DTS format was "Karuppu Roja" and it was Sridhar who was actually behind this venture.He was always into experimenting new things and his watchword was always "QUALITY".Throughout his career,he always laid emphasis on sound quality which in fact made him a close friend and engineer of Rahman's.The nation experienced a fresh sound in 1992 when ARR made his debut with his blockbuster "Roja".With the advent of Roja,soon all composers started making music on stereo while it was mono previously.Throughout his life,he strived hard for the sound quality and drew millions of people towards him.He will continue to be a source of inspiration for many aspiring sound engineers.
to be continued....

Evening Extravaganza with ARR

This blog is to share my experiences at the Jai ho concert held at Marg Swarnabhoomi on the 11th of october 2009.To start off with,we reached the venue at 6.30 pm and we realized that a crowd estimating around 1,00,000 people had gathered to witness the concert and many trying to get a glimpse of their favourite playback singers and of course,ARR. After lighting the traditional kuthuvilakku Guitar prassana was on stage and he spoke about his upcoming music college for those who are into music and also about his collaboration with Marg in developing the college.The entire crowd was then made to wait for about 20 minutes as they were making the final adjustments to the sound system.The crowd went really mad when the lights were turned off as they knew that the concert was about to begin.There was hooting and howling everywhere in the open air auditorium and as the smoke started pumping from the stage the crowd really went crazy to the extent of jumping from their seats and rushing towards the stage.When ARR came up with his song Jaage hain from Guru some of them were literally moved by his performance.The people got ecstatic when ARR said"How are you Chennai?" because it is not always you get to watch an ARR concert in Chennai.The next 2 hours were power packed with ARR belting out some of his hit numbers ranging from Roja to Blue along with Hariharan,Tanvi,Sadhana sargam,Mohd Aslam,Chitra,Raihanah and a few others.Ace drummer Sivamani saw to it that the crowd danced to his killer beats and incredible rhythm.Keith peters was too good on the bass guitar and there were the frequent frets and the slaps.Flautist Navin deserves a special mention for his awesome interludes in some of the country's most hummed tunes.

This is my comment on the songs that were sung during the3 hour long extravaganza:

1. Jaage hain-A.R. Rahman

A perfect intro to the maestro ARR.This particular song made the crowd jump from their seats and many even went to the extent of breaking all the security barriers and rush to the stage.The awesome orchestrations and the high pitched rendering by ARR makes this song very unique.

Indeed great!!!!!!!! Rating: *****/*****

2. Kadhal Rojave or Roja jaaneman - Hariharan,Sadhana sargam

This evergreen song from ARR's Roja could have been performed better by Hariharan as we could realize that he had forgotten the lyrics and somehow managed to sing.With people like Hariharan on stage the expectations are high.You can't afford to make mistakes or give reasons for the bad performance. Rating:**/*****

3. Chupke Se or Snehithane - Sadhana sargam

This is another song which proves ARR's genius.The violin interludes and the mindblowing bass patterns take the song to a different level.Sadhana sargam's silky voice adds flavour to the song and the songs still continues to be in the list of the most hummed tunes of the decade. Rating:****/*****

4. Khalbali-A.R.Rahman,Aslam,Naresh iyer.

This song needs no introduction.The crowd went mad immediately when the opening beats were heard.Everybody was at the their zenith of enthusiasm and when ARR sang 'Siddi Siddi" the crowd went really crazy. The techno beats kept pounding in their hearts till the end of the song.

Rating: *****/*****

A.R.Rahman jamming with Sivamani in the song Khalbali

5. Jiya se Jiya- A.R.Rahman& Sivamani

This song had something different happening which no other concert of ARR has ever had.The lights were turned off and ARR suddenly got off the stage and he got into the crane and sang the entire song throwing a few hats and the crane moving above those seated in the first few rows.

The beats of Sivamani was too sick that even we could see sexagenerians dancing to the tune.

Rating: *****/*****

6.Dilli-6 theme-A.R.Rahman,Blaaze,Tanvi.

This song showed ARR's idea for getting the "sound" right.The opening lines of the song have a sort of a Telephonic effect and ARR managed to get the sound right by placing a mic near the hand loudspeaker and asking Tanvi to sing the song.The awsome vocals and the Trombone and the french horns that keep rolling in the background creates a magical efect in our hearts.

To be continued.....

A.R.Rahman - The Man,The Soul,The Music.

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence"

Following the success of Slumdog Millionaire at the 81st Academy awards,one man who is totally out of this celebration is its award winning composer A.R. Rahman.Despite winning the the oscars in 2 categories he seems to be very composed and doesn't let success go into his head.He seems to very humble and even feels that he has a long way to go and it's a small milestone in his voyage of life.

Born and brought up in Chennai, India, he entered the ad industry as a jingle-composer.He composed not less than 300 jingles for various ad companies for a brief periodspanning for almost 3 years (1988- 1990).Some of his famous jingles include the award winning jingle of Leo Coffee directed by ace director and cinematographer Rajiv menon and the jingle which he made for MRF tyres directed by his childhood friend Bharatbala.

He aspired to become an Electronics engineer but god had something else in store for him.He had the opportunity to meet Ace director Mani Ratnam at an ad film awards function Through Sharada Trilok,a veteran in the field of advertisements.

Mani ratnam gave a break to ARR in his his upcoming movie "Roja"starring Arvindswamy and Madhubala and produced under K.Balachander's "Kavithaalaya" banner.The film became a rage all over and went on to sweep all awards that year.A.R.Rahman won his First National award for his mindblowing compositions.In particular,the song "Thamizha Thamizha" sung by Hariharan spread the feeling of patriotism all over the country.

Music is what life sounds like.Its language is a language which the soul alone understands, but which the soul can never translate.

A.R.Rahman revolutionized Indian music and made it to spread beyond the horizons an has made it an International icon.

Above all,Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.Though he doesn't speak much he makes his music do all the talking.

Jai ho !

His award winning jingle "Leo coffee"

The Asian Mozart with the Golden Lady

One name that is keeping on reverberating the whole of India and in international media circles and among the common people ranging from school kids to Sexagenarians is
A.R.Rahman !!!!

"Music,the greatest good that mortals know and all of heaven we have below". A.R Rahman

He made history as he became the first Indian to carry home 2 Oscars presented to him at the 81st Acaedemy Awards held at Los Angeles on February 22 for his excellent sound tracks "Jai ho" and "O Saya" in the movie Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny boyle.
Mr.Rahman began his career working as Keyboardist in Maestro Illayaraja's troupe and later accompanied Zakir hussain(Grammy award winner) and Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan(Violin exponent) on world tours.By 1989,he started composing jingles for advertisements and soon established himself in the TV industry by composing more than 300 ad jingles ,some of the popular ads being Leo Coffee,Asian paints and MRF tyres.


He got a visa into the film industry through Mr.Mani ratnam,an ace director who asked him to score music for his movie "Roja" in 1992.The movie was released on the 15th of August 1992 and soon turned out to be a sensation.The fresh sound of music captured the Indian audience and he left them spellbound with his chartbusting tracks from 1992.

He always attributes all his success to the Almighty god and feels that the world would be nowhere if god hadn't been here.

His focus towards music,his efficient use of technology and the faith he has on god has made him achieve the pinnacle of glory in his life.
He took the whole nation to a surprise when he won the Golden globe award for the Best Original score in Slumdog Millionaire.

And Finally the prayers of all Indians came true when he lifted the Golden lady for his scintillating score in Slumdog Millionaire.

HATS OFF TO U MR.A.R.RAHMAN!!!!!!

YOU HAVE MADE THE WHOLE WORLD LOOK AT INDIA !

Mr.OSCARRAHMAN